10th anniversary: Dontrelle Willis trade

Ten years ago today, the Marlins made a pretty good trade for themselves, though it might not be quite as one-sided as you might think.

On that day they sent two players to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a four-pack. The only established player was journeyman hurler Julian Tavarez. Along with him were two aging prospects, hitter Ryan Jorgensen and pitcher Jose Cueto. Rounding out Florida’s haul was the real prize, a charismatic 20-year-old lefty by the name of Dontrelle Willis.

Yeah, that ended up working well for the Marlins.

The young Willis spent all of 2002 in the minors, but in 2003 he won his promotion to the majors and made the most of it. He went 14-6 on the year for the Marlins, helping them claim a surprise wild card crown. From there, despite Willis having a poor postseason, the team claimed the franchise’s second world title—defeating Willis’ former team in the NLCS.

Two years later was his dream season, as he went 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA, leading the league in wins, shutouts, and complete games. He finished second to Chris Carpenter in the Cy Young voting. Willis was just 23 years old.

Then, as happens all too often with talented young pitchers, his arm began to go south. The next year in 2006 his record plummeted to 12-12 while his ERA rose to 3.87. 2007 was even worse, He went 10-15 while surrendering the a league leading 118 earned runs. That was his last year with Florida. Since then, he’s won four games over four years with three teams.

Willis didn’t have a great career, but his great peak ensured the Marlins got the better of that trade.

That said, the trade wasn’t a complete blow out. While the Cubs gave up more than they got, they got some usable parts. In order to get Willis, the Marlins sent Chicago former closer Antonio Alfonseca and reclamation project Matt Clement. Alfonseca was a dud in Chicago, but Clement worked out nicely.

Clement always had a nice fastball, but he lacked control. In 2000 with the Padres, he led the league in walks and wild pitches, en route to a 13-17 season with a 5.14 ERA. Florida picked him up in 2001, only to see Clement post another ERA over 5.00 while again lead the league in wild pitches (despite tossing barely enough innings to qualify for the ERA title).

In Chicago, Clement figured it out. A man who’d walked five batters per nine innings over the previous two years issued only 3.7BB/9IP. He proved to be a pretty reliable starter for the Cubs for the next three years. He was never great like Willis, but Clement helped the Cubs advance to the playoffs in 2003.

In the 2003 NLCS, Clement won his only start, Game Four. Making it a tad sweeter, the pitcher he outdueled on that day was none other than Dontrelle Willis. That victory gave the Cubs a three-games-to-one lead in the NLCS, and had they won one of the remaining trio of games, Chicago likely wouldn’t have minded the Cubs losing that trade as flags fly forever. However, it’s the Cubs and as everyone knows in Wrigley Field flags fly for never.

Aside from that, many other baseball events today celebrate their anniversary or “day-versary” (which is an event occurring X-thousand days ago). Here they are, with the better ones in bold if you just want to skim the list.

Day-versaries

2,000 days since the Cardinals top the Padres 2-0 in Game Two of the 2006 NLDS. Five St. Louis pitchers combine to throw a four-hitter against San Diego.

Anniversaries

1890 The Inter-State League rejects the membership application of an all-black club.

1902 The Chicago NL team is first publicly referred to as the “Cubs” when a newspaper says “[team manager] Frank Selee will devote his strongest efforts on the team work of the new Cubs this year.” This nickname would have a nice future in front of it (even though the franchise itself wouldn’t).

2011 A thief breaks into the spring training abode renting by Tampa Bay players Evan Longoria, David Price, and Reid Brignac. He makes off with $50,000 worth of jewelry and electronics, and also swipes a gun.